The Influence of Nanoclay Partitioning on Microstructural Properties and Fibrillation Process in PP/PBT/Nanoclay Blend Nanocomposite Fibers

The aim of this work was to study the role of nanoclay partitioning on microfibrillar morphology development of PP/PBT/nanoclay blend nanocomposite fibers. The samples with the same blend ratio (80/20, w/w) but varying in organoclay content (1,3 and 5 wt%) with and without the compatibilizer (iPPgMA) with both spherical and fibrillar morphology were considered. All blend samples were melt spun by using a single screw extruder equipped with spinneret. When the amount of organoclay inside the droplets was increased, the deformability of the droplet filled with organoclay significantly reduced which hinder fibril formation process. In the samples with low organoclay content, the tactoids and platelets were mostly located at the interface which could assist the microfibril formation with uniform diameter, while at higher nanoclay loading a large portion of organoclay was selectively partitioned in the PBT droplet which reduced the extent of microfibril formation. The selective localization of the organoclay in the phases plays a particular role in improving the fibrillation process of the PBT phase containing rigid nanoplatelets organoclay with high aspect ratio.